JV Stinson might be a freshman by classification.

Thursday night, the Grace Christian ninth-grader played more like an all-state veteran.

With Grace Christian starting their reserve quarterback for the second game in a row, tailback Stinson knew he’d likely draw the focus of the Webb defense.

Didn’t matter.

He scooted about Grace Christian’s new turf field and rushed for 391 yards and three touchdowns in the Rams’ 70-40 win on Rivalry Thursday.

Jace Ballard, who is a senior at Grace, added 94 yards receiving, a receiving TD, 201 yards rushing and five touchdowns on the ground, as Grace Christian improved to 4-0 (3-0 Division II-AA East).

Webb dropped to 0-5 (0-3).

Grace finished with 734 yards of total offense, throwing just eight passes all night. Webb posted 456.

“I want to talk about those five guys we have up front,” Grace coach Justin Price said, referring to his offensive line. “They were all returning this year. We knew we had something special up front.

“Losing a quarterback in Treyson (Derry) and a running back in Terrion (Thomas), we always knew, within our walls, that our starting offensive line was something we could lean on. And what they did tonight was incredible — but they’ve been doing it all season.”

Grace took control of the contest thanks to their first-half offense, staking a 35-20 lead by the break. Stinson set the tone, rumbling some 65 yards on the first play from scrimmage to set himself up with a 1-yard touchdown on the next play.

“He runs so motivated,” Price said. “He’s a special player, and he’s gotten to where his vision has even improved.”

Grace simply spread out the Webb defense presnap, and once Stinson got through or around the line of scrimmage, he had ample room to roam.

Stinson ran 13 times in the first two quarters for 296 yards and two touchdowns and had onlookers wondering what the state record was for a single game (it’s 572, by the way).

Ballard had a rushing and a receiving touchdown in the first 24 minutes.

And Grace had 438 yards of total offense in the first half. They played the role of aggressor from the jump, going for two onside kicks in the first quarter and never really having to face a decision to punt.

Gage Porter went 16-for-19 passing for 205 yards and two TDs in the first half, and Clay Fultz kicked 26- and 34-yard field goals for Webb in the second quarter that helped the Spartans stay within striking distance.

And that helped, as Shavar Young’s 4-yard run at the 9:50 mark of the third, trimmed the deficit to just eight points (35-27).

Ballard struck again, though, racing in around left end for a 24-yard touchdown run with 4:54 left in the third to bump the lead back to 15.

Young hauled in a well-defended pass for a TD with 1:20 left in the third, leaping over a Grace defensive back in the end zone to make it a 42-34 game.

Webb just couldn’t stop the run game — specifically Ballard. His 24-yard touchdown run with 10:50 to play gave the Rams a 15-point lead once again.

Grace’s Evan Pritchard intercepted a Webb pass with 10:11 remaining. The Rams turned that into points and all but put the Spartans away.

Ballard’s 36-yard touchdown run at the 9:10 mark made it a 56-34 margin.

On the ensuing kickoff, Young returned it deep into Grace territory. And then he capped off the possession with a 6-yard scoring run with 7:26 left to play. The two-point try failed and, ultimately, so did Webb’s comeback efforts.

Nevertheless, Young made an indelible mark on this game. He finished with 77 yards rushing, two rushing TDs, 119 yards receiving, a receiving TD, and 107 yards in kickoff returns — all this on top of his starting duties in the Webb secondary. He even forced a fumble at the goal line in the first half that prevented a Grace score.

Stinson, though, finished what he started. His 61-yard touchdown gallop with 7:11 left in the fourth made it 63-40 Grace, and Ballard added another TD run later for good measure.

“Jace is so electric,” Price said. “He can catch. He can run. He can get on that edge.

“Those two guys (Ballard and Stinson) played exceptionally well. And our receivers blocked great on the perimeter all night.”

Article written by Jesse Smithey/5Star Preps To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc… visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2025 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.

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